I was interviewed by KGW-8 on the Portland City Council decision to buy only local biodiesel fuel. This has resulted in the city paying as much as $6.75 a gallon this summer (as they have been locked in a contract) and project overruns as much as $320,000. Portland Tribune article here [1]. Commissioner Randy Leonard didn’t seem to mind as he commented that he is creating jobs. Under that logic why not pay twice for pencils, paper and coffee.
Days later Portland announced their grand super toilet they designed. At high risk is that Portland will make the same mistake Seattle did and lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in a failed venture. Days later from this Randy Leonard was in the headlines for spending $750 in campaign funds for a self-portrait. That alone brings up an interesting point on whether if a candidate in the future can use Portland public financing funds (city tax dollars) to beautify themselves?
With Sam Adams coming into office, maybe these distractions will diminish and a new agenda will be born. Who knows?
Here is my KGW quote,
“Right now people are losing their jobs and losing their business and what is Portland doing? They’re spending twice as much as they should for a gallon of gas all for some pet project and to look good,” said Jason Williams with the Oregon Taxpayers Association. “Well, we’re not interested in looking good. We need to survive.”
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